Bilqees Kaur rocked today! Soha finally landed in New York and met Sultan’s family, and what an introduction it was! Bilqees hitting Peeno, an amused Inayat standing around like a random bystander, Iqbal wandering around drunk out of his mind, and the cherry on top, the news that Anjuman had eloped with her boyfriend – did somebody say dysfunctional??
Before we got to that memorable meeting, however, a lot else happened. Sobia had her say with Soha, but being the smart girl she is, Soha resisted the temptation to clear her name by pointing a finger at her lecherous brother-in-law. She earned my admiration today with not only her pragmatic approach to her relationship with Sultan, but also her very honest assessment of why she needed to ensure that her marriage was successful. Good girl! This is such a well-etched out character by Faiza Iftikhar, and Syra Yousuf is fabulous as Soha, showing her maturity and growth as an actress since her Mera Naseeb days.
Juxtaposed against the empowered Soha is the witless Peeno. Watching her, emptying her bedroom and her acquiescent response to Bilqees’ recommendation that she use a trunk as a closet, I wanted to give her a hard shake. However, listening to her phone conversation with Zia, there is clearly more here than meets the eye. Sadia Imam is stellar as Peeno. While on Peeno, Inayat, a brilliant Kashif Mahmood, also returned from his “vacation.” However, this trip did not appear to have done his temperament much good as Peeno’s hesitantly offered reason for the cleaned room set him off again. Wonder if Deedar ji was not as enamored of his charms as he had thought she would be?
The other member of this troubled family, Anjuman, has realized that lived realities work quite differently from romanticized fantasies. The fact that she had to resort to asking her uncle Kuljeet for help was really telling; the sequence where the three, Anjuman, Faraz, and Kuljeet, discussed various options was very well done; whether Anjuman is welcomed back into the family fold remains to be seen. Farhan Ali Agha and Maheen Khalid are well-suited to their roles. The actor playing Faraz is generally okay, but there were times today where he appeared to be reading straight from the script.
Towering above all, though, is Bushra Ansari. I am so in awe. The range of emotions flitting across her face, as Iqbal handed her Sultan’s call, was amazing to say the least. Similarly, her heartbroken conversation with Kuljeet, her short-temperedness with Peeno and Inayat, her bluster with Soha, her frustration with Iqbal’s drinking, all are touches that bring so much depth and nuance, and say so much about Bilqees’ multifaceted personality. Bushra Ansari is simply magnificent here.
Smack dab in the middle of all these very strong female characters is Sultan. Ahsan Khan is holding his own and brings so much maturity to his character. He is perhaps the only one of her children who can dare to stand up to Bilqees. The understated way in which he expressed his disappointment and embarrassment at the scene at wife’s arrival was very nicely done. With Soha’s fantastic entry into Bilqees’ household, Adnan Ahmed has set the stage well, and raised the bar very high, for future interactions between the choti bahu and her dysfunctional susral. I look forward to seeing how the three, Soha, Sultan, and Bilqees, move forward from hereon.
Apart from the actual episode, there were a couple of details that bothered me. How long was Sultan’s trip to Pakistan? Bilqees told Sultan that Anjuman had eloped three days after he left. Judging from the time elapsed it seemed like another two/three days had passed since she’d left home, roughly adding up to a week. On the other hand, considering the number of things that happened in Pakistan, Sultan spent considerably more than a week there. Wonder why this discrepancy? Moreover, did anyone else think the number of clothes, particularly dress shirts, in Inayat’s closet was mind-boggling? Considering the guy barely ever seems to take a shower, where’s the need for so many clothes?
Written by SZ~ [email protected]
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